The Disastrous Aftermath
by watchthemburn
Summary: What happens after Promise of Reunion. Ib and Gary gets trapped in the alternate world again and they must find their way together to the real world while trying to survive, solving the mystery and encountering an unexpected someone.
1. Chapter 1

"Because… We will meet again!"

That was when the room blinked. Once, twice, then it blacked out.

"Ib?" Gary called out frantically. There was a clicking sound. A small illuminating flame flickered. He saw Ib holding up a lighter. "That lighter… Was it the one that I gave to you?" Gary asked. Ib nodded.

"It's a good thing that you kept it." Gary smiled and looked around him. "What is going on? Are we still in the Fabricated World? I thought that we finally escaped…" Gary mumbled to himself, dejected. "Okay, enough feeling down. Ib. We may not know what is going on but this is surely not our world. Come, let's look around. Stay close to me."

When Gary and Ib's eyes got adjusted to the dark, they set out. There were no people except for them around. They went upstairs and trotted through the hallway, before meeting a dead end and thus they had to turn and walk back.

Ib abruptly tugged on Gary's sleeve. Gary looked down at her and Ib pointed. Following her gaze, he saw a doorway. He could not remember if it had been there before. He turned the knob but it was locked. "We need a key." Gary said.

Ib turned and scanned her surroundings. She began to walk towards a nearby painting on a wall and gestured Gary to follow. Ib told him to move the painting aside. Gary glanced at the painting for a second before averting his eyes and pushed it. There was something behind it: a key. "Good job, Ib." Gary said as he picked it up and they went back to the door. The door opened with a creak and they entered.


	2. Chapter 2

"…."

Gary and Ib froze on the spot. The room they were in was small and dark, but through the dim glow of the flame from the lighter they could see the big, gleaming reddish words scrawled across the wall glaring at them.

"**Let**'s play a game _Hide and seek_? _**Let's play**_ let's play_!_"

Gary gulped. "Looks like something, or someone is keeping us here." He said, sweat trickling down his cheek. "A game of hide and seek, huh? Sure. We got to win this, Ib." He looked at her and she could see the determination behind his eyes. Ib nodded. The flame wavered as the hand below it shook unsteadily.

They left the room and as they walked side by side, they were in deep thought. "What's this all about? Who's behind this? Can we really leave this world if we play along? Questions, questions…." Gary was mumbling to himself as he furrowed his eyebrows. Ib looked at him for quite a long time. He returned the look and they stood still for a moment, their eyes on each other. "No, Ib. It can't be." Gary shook his head and his expression was impassive but his voice was trembling. "Not Mary. No. She should be gone…She should be."


	3. Chapter 3

"Thump…Thump….Thump."

Ib and Gary was hiding behind a wall, holding their breath and not moving an inch. They had many uncanny, horrific and bizarre encounters. They have solved puzzles, overcame obstacles and close shaves.

But this time, the game of finding the hider may or may not go well.

"Screee_EEEEECCCHH_"

They recognised the high-pitched sound as the sound of a point and sharp tip being scratched across a surface. The image of a knife sprang into their minds. "Please don't find us." Gary prayed silently to himself. "Let us return to our world safely and leave everything behind."

"_Please_."

A distorted and grotesque figure peeked out from the corner of the wall.

"Found you."

It smiled. Gary grabbed Ib's hand and they ran.

"This game is over. You're already found! Stop running…It's no fun if you keep running away." It sang.

Gary pulled Ib behind a pillar. "Ib, I have a plan. Let's do this okay?" He whispered to her. "We have to confront that thing. It's right. We can't run and hide forever." Ib looked at him in the eye and nodded. "I still have your handkerchief. It might be too late, but if you want it back I'll give it back." He continued. Ib smiled faintly and shook her head. "You'll give it to me?" Gary sounded surprised. "Thanks, Ib." He smiled and took a deep breath. Ib did the same.

"Are you ready?" Gary asked. Ib took his hand and they stepped out from the pillar. The same dark figure stood a few feet away. "You two are as close as ever." It mumbled. "Without me…without me…." It was holding a darkly stained knife. It moved towards them slowly, silently.


	4. Chapter 4

"Who are you? What do you really want?" Gary began as he and Ib backed away. "What-!" Gary stopped and gaped in horror when the figure became no longer a blur and he could truly see it clearly.

The figure was human-like and when they looked closer, it was girl with long messy wavy hair, wearing a tattered dress with stain marks. It felt like their breath was knocked out of them and their hearts stopped palpitating.

"Ib! Gary! It's been a long time! How are you?" Mary asked cheerfully. Her arms, legs, neck, skin, face was heavily scarred and marked. Her long hair fell over one of her eyes, concealing it. "I miss you two. " Mary's eyelids lowered and her mouth drooped. "I kept thinking of you two but what I wanted the most was to play with you all again." Mary suddenly brightened up as she waved her terribly scared arms. "I had a good time playing with you again! It's been a long, long time since Mary had fun!" She giggled.

"How?"Gary croaked. His mind was spinning and he clenched the hand holding Ib's tightly.

Ib remembered a painting she had seen in a room nearby them. _From the Ashes, _it was called. Gary, as usual, had helped her to read the title. The painting was broken, scorched around the edges and the picture was torn, faded but mostly cryptic. It was lopsided and looked fragile, like one touch could send it tumbling to the ground or make it crumble. They had passed by it after finding that it probably didn't hold any significance.

But it did. _From the Ashes._ It meant more than it ever could.

Ib gasped. She understood. Not everything, but she could grasp some of it at least.

"You look like you know something, Ib." Mary said, looking straight at her. "Have you figured it out?" She tilted her head and gave them a crooked grin. Gary stepped in front of Ib as Mary raised her knife and advanced.

_How this would turn out in the end, depends on you now._

_Hmm? The lovely roses? Where are they, you ask. I wonder. What do you think?_


	5. Chapter 5

"Answer me, Mary."

Gary was saying. Mary stopped moving. "That's right; you're both here because of me." She said smiling at them as though they are vulnerable prey.

"You don't have to do this. We forgive you and you can come with us again," Gary chose his words carefully. "But it's not that we're sorry for what we had to do to you…." He mumbled under his breathe.

"You are my friends," Mary said as her face darkened. "You still left me alone in the end." She started moved forward again.

"No." Gary's voice wavered when he realized that they were cornered. He grabbed Ib's lighter and brandished it. "Don't move."

She continued.

"Stop, Mary."

"Hey, Ib, you were quiet all this time. Say something, will you?"  
"Don't come any closer. _Don't._" The lighter lit up.

"What are you thinking of now, Ib? What are you feeling?" Mary said with her eyes blank and ignoring Gary and the lighter completely.

"Tell us how to get out of here and we can help you get to the Real World." Gary said through gritted teeth, tired of threatening. "That's what you really want, isn't it?" He gripped the lighter tightly in his fist.

Out of the blue, there was a crackling sound. Mary's eyes cleared and she saw the little flame above Gary's hand and she screamed.

Ib went to stand beside Gary to get a closer look behind Mary and noticed for the first time a painting hidden in the shadows. It was the only one hung on the wall. The sound seems to be coming from it.

"_NOOOOO!" _Mary was turning hysterical as her expression became twisted upon hearing the crackling sound similar to the sound of a burning fire. Her legs wobbled and gave way. She slumped to the ground. As she fell, her hands shook and she dropped her knife. It landed with a thump and slide out of reach.

"Give it back! Give it back!" Mary cried as she stretched out her hand. Gary could tell that she was getting desperate. He merely watched in silence, frozen in place.

"_No! Ib! Gary! Help me!_" She panicked even further when she lost control of her body and she lay motionless. The painting behind her was crumbling slowly into tiny pieces. And so did Mary.

Ib stepped towards her ,watching. "Ib!" Mary relaxed slightly. "I…I…only wanted….." Tears filled up the corners of her eyes. Ib knelt and looked at her. Half of Mary's body was already in pieces and she continued breaking. She looked so lost, so fragile, so pitiful.

Ib's hand pulled back when Gary stopped her. He shook his head. Mary sniffled, her eyes fixed on the two of them. She opened her mouth but her words were lost as she disappeared in pieces along with the ashes of the painting.

"Crocodile tears." Gary told Ib. He knew what Mary was capable of and kept reminding himself that she was not to be trusted, much less pitied.

Ib did not reply. She was staring at the knife Mary had dropped on the floor. She walked and picked it up, holding it firmly.

"Let's go." She said poker-faced and Gary nodded, joining her at her side as they left.


	6. Chapter 6

"Hey, Ib, have you noticed it yet?"

Gary asked softly. Ib looked up at him. "The paintings that we have passed by, they're not like the ones before. They seem different." He said with a worried expression. Ib nodded and looked ahead.

"Ib…They're dead."

An emotion flashed across Ib's eyes but it was quickly gone.

Gary did an impression of a detective trying to connect the dots. "They weren't moving or responding. Mary is a painting herself, yet she's able to do that." He frowned, thinking hard. "Dead paintings, a badly injured Mary with a knife, you probably know where this is going, right?" He turned to Ib.

Ib took out Mary's knife and examined it. The dark stains on it were already dried. The tip was a little bent. The handle felt sticky.

"Yeah, she probably killed them. We had burnt her own painting so she'll already be dead herself by now but…" Gary trailed off.

"She must have wanted to live very strongly. I don't know how she did it but she rose from the ashes and fought with the paintings, killing them so she could use them as an empty vessel to move about." Ib said, her eyes looking down on the blade. "Without this, she may not survive…"

"She wanted to hurt us." Gary said a little indignantly and was about to continue when Ib cut him off.

"She really wants to go to our world and she even went as far as to do all this to accomplish that. Even if we try to 'kill' her again she'll keep coming back. So I think we should fulfill her wish and then we might finally be at peace."

Gary was quiet for a while. "But why keep us here?" He asked. "Maybe she thinks that we are the key to getting her to the Real World." Ib replied, shrugging.

"If we are, then we can get back ourselves can't we?" Gary grinned. Ib smiled back.

"Now let's go find the lock."


	7. Chapter 7

_This is your rose. Take good care of it and protect it with your life, because it's your life itself._

"That took a while." Gary remarked and sighed with relief. "Finally, we've reached the end of the gallery." A door with intricate markings was what it was standing at the end. They had to solve some puzzles to get to it. At one point, they got stuck and had to walk back and forth many times, racking their brains, trying to crack a certain code.

"I can't help but feel that there's something really important behind this door." He said, standing next to Ib in front of the door. Ib reached out but before she could touch the oddly-shaped knob, Gary stopped her.

"Let me open it, Ib. It might be dangerous." Gary said. Ib wanted to thank him for his concern, but something stopped the words from coming out of her mouth. It was a sinister feeling and it struck her as Gary's hand moved closer to the knob.

Should she tell him to be careful? She wasn't sure. Anything could happen, if she doesn't act now….

"What's wrong Ib?" Gary's voice broke her train of thought. Ib shook her head and said she was fine. Gary didn't look convinced but he turned back to the door.

"Here we go." He gripped the knob and turned it. The door gave way and they stepped inside.

They gasped at what they saw. Two roses lay on the ground, as though they have been left there for them. Ib and Gary smiled at each other and they begin walking towards the roses.

"Thank you for this, Ib, Gary," A familiar voice echoed and it made them stopped their tracks. They didn't need to turn around to know who the voice belongs to.

"I knew you two could solve it! I'm so glad I didn't hurt you two before." They could feel the smile behind their backs and there was footsteps coming closer and closer.


	8. Chapter 8 : Gary end

_- Gary Ending - _

Mary was looking more severely damaged than before. Her dress was in shreds. It looked like her long hair was forcefully grabbed and pulled many times and the results was ghastly. Her limbs and her neck had more cuts and they hung loosely. Her face was indescribable with deep scratches.

Ib realized that without her knife, she was almost powerless. She may have won the fight with a painting, but it was at great costs.

"What do you want?" Gary asked. "The roses." Mary said curtly. Gary blinked.

Mary looked at Ib. "I would like to have my knife back, is it with you Ib? If it is then that's okay." Her eyes shifted swiftly to Gary. "I'd tear you into pieces."

Ib immediately took a step forward. Don't threaten Gary, she wanted to say. But Gary smiled and shrugged nonchalantly.

"Is this what you're looking for?" He said and held up a knife. Ib whirled around and she couldn't help but feel shocked at how her knife that was in her pocket before ended up in Gary's hand.

Mary growled. Ib stared at Gary, puzzled. "Gary?" She said.

"Your name is Ib?" Gary said to her. "I see, Ib. It's great knowing you." He twirled the knife easily before he lunged and impaled her.

Ib let out a small gasp and collapsed. Mary glared. "You're it aren't you." She said. Gary tilted his head and looked confused.

She scoffed. "I knew it. The door was a painting all along. When Gary came into contact with the knob, you were able to get through him. You possess him right now."

"Cor-rect. Plus this body isn't too bad." Gary looked down at himself and smiled.

"But how dare you kill Ib." Mary was gritting her teeth and glaring lividly. "What can you do now? You're broken, you can't win against me." Gary said calmly and moved towards her.

That was when Mary dropped to her knees, much to her surprise. She struggled to stay upright but it was a futile effort. She fell face-down and groaned.

She could barely lift her head and she was only at eye level with Gary's shoes. "Pathetic." She heard him say. She really wants to hurt him.

Mary summoned all her strength that she had left to turn her head and look at Ib's still body lying not far away. "Ib…" She was barely audible but it didn't matter.

Gary chuckled, breaking the silence. He turned and picked up a rose. "It's pretty." He said. A few minutes passed. Nothing happened.

"Boring." He mumbled as he opened his palm, letting the rose fall down to the ground. It landed softly. Gary turned again and walked out of the door, smirking. Behind him, the rose withered bit by bit.

_Gary Ending: Bad_


	9. Chapter 9

_Should she, really? Well, it's now or never…_

Ib pulled Gary's sleeve and his hand drew back. "What is it?" He asked, sounding surprised. Ib told him to cover the knob with his handkerchief before unlocking it.

Gary did exactly what Ib said. He wrapped the knob with the handkerchief Ib gave him and opened the door. "I hope I can wash this soon." He thought as he removed the fabric from the knob and placed it in his pocket.

"What could this mean?" Gary said as he peered closer at the roses. "We didn't have our roses at first right? Were they in here all along?" He gently held one. Colour seeped into its petals, painting it blue.

Ib, who was watching him, picked the other rose up and the same phenomenon happened. The petals turned red instead.

She felt a presence and looked behind her. Mary stood by the entrance silently. She looked like she could fall apart or crumble into pieces again any minute. Gary turned his head and when he saw the sight of Mary he leaped back.

Her eye that wasn't hidden by her hair was devoid of any emotion. "It's too late. I tried so hard and yet…." She drawled as she walked closer to them.

Gary was about to say something but Ib held up a hand. Mary looked straight at her. "Ib, my knife…" Ib took out Mary's knife. "Is it the knife or the rose?" Ib questioned her true desire, the two objects in each of her hands.

The corner of Mary's mouth twitched and an emotion flickered in her eye. "Knife." She said.

Ib passed her the knife. "Is that really a good idea?" Gary asked with a hint of doubt in his voice. Ib just nodded.

"Thanks, Ib." Mary smiled at her, feeling the knife rest comfortably in her hand. "Why do you want the rose?" Ib asked, knowing that she made Mary faced a dilemma earlier. "I guess it's no use now. So I'll explain it to you. It's almost like the same as before, Ib." Mary stared down at her bruised feet.

"Only two can leave this world."


	10. Chapter 10

"Ib and Gary have the roses so they can leave." Mary said quietly as she hung her head like a child who did not what she wanted. There was a sparkle in Gary's eyes. "We can get out! Ib, this is great!"

Ib agreed, and thought she saw Mary tensed. "The door is a painting. Due to my current state, I'm not well enough to go against it. So I needed you two." Her expression darkened as she continued. "But you reached the roses before I did. That's…not fair."

She suddenly faltered. Gary immediately went to take ahold of her arm. "W-What is it?" He asked with his face flushed when she and Ib gave him a look. Mary smiled and lowered her eyelids, as if dozing off lightly. "I know. You're always like that. Kind Gary…" Her words came out as a whisper.

Her face became twisted with pain in the next second. "There's a time limit to every painting I overtook, since I don't truly belonged to it." Mary explained weakly. Ib shook Gary's arm not holding Mary's lightly. "We need to go…" She said.

"Hehehe…." A snickering voice interrupted. "Such a sweet moment you all have. Too bad you won't get out of here alive." It cackled before it said with a wide grin.

"Because those rose are mine."

"Who's that?" Gary called out. "It's me!" The voice answered, giggling. Ib and Gary almost lost their sense of balance as they felt the world spun around them. "What's going…on…?" Gary muttered as Ib and Mary clung onto his sleeve.

Mary tried to keep her eyes open while Ib hurriedly thought of a way to escape. The door to the exit of the room was open, they could get out. But the longer they stayed, the room begun to grow more and more chilling in the sense that the painting which is both door and the exit was about to strike at them without warning.

Gary held onto the two girls as cracks appeared and spread across the walls around them as quick as a forest fire and the ground shook and trembled beneath their feet as though they are experiencing a massive earthquake.

The voice, which Ib now figured belonged to the painting in the door, was continuously laughing shrilly. "Blood spilling all over…ehehehe…" Ib had a feeling that the voice was talking to her.

Gary let out a breath, his eyes showing determination and said, "Hang on." Ib did not have time to ask what he meant as he picked her up around the waist with his arm and carried Mary the same way with his other arm.

Once the two are tucked firmly by his sides, Gary ran as fast as he could to the exit. He could feel something creeping up closely behind him as he sprinted but he was not going to turn around to find out.

He got out and nearly stumbled. "Gary…" Ib said but he managed to keep his balance. He looked at Mary and he kept his gaze for a while. "What?" Mary asked. "I can't move my head but I can feel you staring."

"Uhh…aren't you, well, going to crumble or go up in flames or something?" Gary said, looking a little perturbed. Mary simply smiled.

Ib poked Gary at his side. "They're still coming." She told him. "Oh. No." Gary took another breath and dashed forward as he tried to keep his hold onto Mary and Ib.


	11. Chapter 11

Ib patted Gary on the back as he pressed his hands onto his knees, bent his body forward and panted heavily.

"Gary, are you okay?" Mary chirped. "I'm...fine…" Gary sucked in a breath and sighed. "Thanks, Ib…?" He looked up. Ib was staring at his empty hands. A sudden realization struck him.

"Where…is…my rose?"

"It's not your rose, Gary." Mary said with a pout. He turned his head and his eyes met with the yellowish rose in Mary's hand. He thought he could hear his own heartbeat at that moment, thumping at a quick pace and the world had stopped in motion.

"Not…again…" Gary gathered strength to stand on his feet even though he felt weak at his knees. "I've been tricked."

Mary shook her head. "Gary…You don't understand." Ib gazed fixedly at her as she spoke. "This rose is what giving me life and strength. It's really important, I needed it." Her eye lit up. "See? I'm not breaking anymore! Isn't that great?" She smiled widely.

"You can use it to leave too, so it is really great." Gary said with a bitter smile "Even if you took it from me." Mary's smile faded.

"I thought that I could trust and help you." Gary continued. "That you might change your ways and learn, Mary. Ib must have thought the same. But you're still just a painting after all." He straightened his back and Mary tilted her head.

Ib stepped forward. "If I give Gary my rose, he can leave, right?" Her words were a soft whisper.

Gary whirled around. "No, Ib—"

Mary laughed hysterically, drowning his words out. "It's just the same as before, isn't it? In the end, the three of us can never get out together!"

Gary clenched his teeth and fists, trembling. Ib was silent but calm. "This time, we will find a way. We will." She promised.

Mary looked at her. "If you say so, anything is fine with me, Ib." She said with a knowing smile.


	12. Chapter 12

Ib walked between Gary and Mary, both whom had not spoken a word since.

They reached a door that feels strangely familiar. Ib turned the knob and pushed the door open.

"Ah…" Gary was surprised as he peeked into the room. "What is this room?" "This is where I come to draw." Mary said. She skipped inside and Ib felt the atmosphere lightened up as she went in after her but only a bit.

There were white sheets of paper scattered everywhere and several used crayons lying at their feet. They seem to be the only things that stood out in the small and simple room.

"Ib, let's draw!" Mary said excitedly as her eyes lit up. Ib looked over to Gary who remained silent, then back to Mary.

_Should she draw? Is Mary planning something? But maybe it was by coincidence that they stumbled upon this room. After all, what could drawing together do any harm?_

Ib glanced at Gary one last time. He sighed and shrugged with a defeated smile. Ib nodded and turned to Mary.

"Okay. Let's draw."


	13. Chapter 13

Mary picked up a wide piece of blank paper among the others and placed it in the middle of the room carefully so as to not make any creases. She gathered a few crayons of different colours and sizes. Finally, she sat down and put her knife near her.

"Come sit!" Mary said gesturing to the empty spots on either sides of her. Ib took her place on her right. Gary, looking wary of the knife, tentatively sat on the other side of her.

"I'll start!" Mary grabbed a crayon with her free hand. She was still clutching onto her rose. Gary eyed the yellow flower but stopped when Ib began draw too. He followed suit.

In Ib's hand was a purple crayon. She used it to sketch a tall stickman without much detail or effort. "Who's that?" Mary peered at it. "Oh, is it Gary?"

Gary looked up at the sound of his name. Seeing Ib's impression of him, he laughed lightly and started to feel relaxed, something he had not felt in a long time. "Not bad." He smiled and continued drawing.

Mary watched him, grinning. "Are you finished?" Ib asked her. She nodded vigorously and laughed at Gary's finished work.

"Ib! Look! He drew you!" Mary exclaimed. "It's not very good…" Gary said sheepishly. Ib realised that there was no Mary drawn anywhere. She searched for a yellow crayon and found it after a while.

"Looks a bit like Gary." Ib thought as she drew the hair covering one eye the same way with Gary. Then she paused. How should she draw the figure itself? Should she follow reality? Ib pondered for a moment before making her decision.

When she is done, they took a step back to admire what they did together. "I like it! Thanks Ib!" Mary said gazing at Ib's drawing of her. Ib sighed with relief. She had ended up drawing the opposite of reality but Mary seemed to like it at least.

"Who drew that? Mary?" Gary pointed to an incomprehensible doodle. "Yes." She said. "Is it a house?" Ib guessed. Mary tilted her head and looked at it closely. "It could be." She shrugged and smiled enigmatically.

They were silent for the next few minutes, staring at the picture. "Like one big happy family." Mary whispered dreamily. Gary turned to her. "Do you even know what a family is?" He asked. Mary frowned and thought hard. "Isn't it when more than two people are friends?" "Not exactly but…" Gary trailed off and was quiet.

Mary was looking at Ib, as though she was considering something. She glanced briefly at Gary before looking back to the picture. "I know the way to the outside world." Mary said and bit her lip as she felt Ib and Gary's eyes on her. She turned to Gary and pressed the rose into his palm without meeting his eyes.

"Go, quickly." Mary pushed the both of them out of the door before they could respond. "Follow the blood trail." Ib's eyes were wide and she was about to say something but Gary's hand was on her arm and he pulled her along. "We can't leave without-" Ib said trying to free Gary's grip on her. He was silent and took her hand gently this time. "I can't take the risk if she changes her mind, Ib. I want to leave together too but this is a chance." He said. "We can still help her." Ib insisted.

"I'll be fine!" Mary called out. She was smiling, her arms behind her back. It was a different smile and it brightened up her scarred face. "Leave and be happy!" Ib was speechless as Gary pulled her after him. He looked over his shoulder and shouted a "Thanks" with an honest smile.

Ib reached out her hand towards Mary as she got further away from her. Mary extended her hand and reached out to her. The tip of her fingers is already cracking and is slowly spreading. She gave a little wave, as if to say good bye. Ib felt her vision getting blurry and blinked away the tears.

When they were out of sight, Mary fell to the ground and buried her face into her hands. "I don't want to be alone anymore…" Her voice was muffled through her tears. There was no one to hear her words. She is alone.


	14. Chapter 14: Mary End

They found the trail sooner than expected and followed it closely to the end. Ib and Gary stood before the mural with blood trickling down the corner which created the trail.

This is it. Stepping into the mural would put an end to this nightmare.

They probably would not remember Mary and there would be no traces left of her existence. With this thought in mind, they looked back. Gary fumbled around in his pockets and took out something. It was a crayon.

"I must have taken it without knowing it." He said. His eyes brightened suddenly, like he just had an idea. He gripped the ends of the crayon and it snapped.

"Here." He handed the other half to Ib. "Hopefully this will help us remember Mary when we got back." Ib nodded and grasped it. They held hands firmly and with one leap they went through the mural.

Meanwhile, back at the room Mary was lying on her back. She was hugging the drawing but soon she did not have any arms to hold it. Her eyes were closed, waiting for the end to come.

She thought she heard distant voices talking, maybe to her but she could not make out the words and she did not feel like replying. She felt tired, hopeless, tired.

Then again, she was sure she could not feel anything in the first place. Perhaps she was making it up that she felt something. It does not matter now because darkness, numbness and immobility were taking over her.

_Mary's end_


End file.
